Rutgers football coach Kyle Flood spent today at the White House being recognized for something even more meaningful than having a championship team honored.

The tireless Sandy relief efforts by the football program spearheaded by Flood were hailed by White House officials earlier today in an official ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, with Flood among 17 people cited as "Hurricane Sandy Champions of Change."

The White House, in a press release, described the honorees as "hidden heroes (who) implemented innovative, collaborative solutions to meet the unique needs of communities and neighborhoods as they worked to rebuild after the devastating effects of this disaster."

“As soon as a disaster hits, we see citizens come together to help those in need. Time and again, we have seen the courage and heroism of first responders, organizations, and ordinary people in providing relief, recovery, and care, and these Hurricane Sandy champions of change are no exception. From providing up-to-the-minute news, to assisting with long-term recovery to showing compassion to neighbors to donating vital supplies, these ordinary heroes are an inspiration to us all,” said Paulette Aniskoff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement, in a statement.

The Rutgers athletic department has raised more than $160,000 so far for the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund, as well as $10,000 that was collected at last year's home football game against Army for the Jersey Shore Chapter of the Red Cross.

The fundraising efforts and awareness-raising are ongoing, too, with Saturday's annual Scarlet-White spring football game serving as the latest event to aid and assist victims of the storm.

Fans will be asked to make a $5 donation to the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund as they enter High Point Solutions Stadium for the 3 p.m. game start.

In addition, Rutgers players will wear special "R Strong" helmets and will feature the names of 90 towns in the state affected by Sandy on the back of the players' jerseys. Those jerseys will then be signed and sent to the towns.

"Relief efforts should always be ongoing for something like this," Flood said during a stop at the boardwalk in Long Branch last Friday to promote the spring game and Saturday's fundraising efforts.

The end of the spring game will feature 22 children in grades six through eight from towns affected by Sandy. They will play the final five minutes of the game and any points scored then will be included in the final score. Those children were selected after submitting essays or photos to the Rutgers football Facebook page.

Flood cited director of operations Will Gilkison, whose hometown of Union Beach was devastated by Sandy, as being the person who "has driven this entire process."

Among the other New Jerseyans cited as "Champions of Change" by the White House for their role in Sandy relief and recovery are Justin Auciello (Jersey Shore Hurricane News) of Somerset; Wendy Kubu Callahan (the Vic Kubu Long Blue Line Scholarship and Disaster Relief Fund) of Manasquan; Warren “Drew” Chabot (Restore the Shore) of Toms River and Wayne Meyer (New Jersey Community Capital)
of New Brunswick.